Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

From Frontier to Bridgehead: Cross‐border Regions and the Experience of Y unnan, C hina

2012; Wiley; Volume: 37; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01191.x

1468-2427

Xiaobo Su,

Economic Zones and Regional Development

Abstract Drawing on recent theoretical tenets regarding cross‐border regions, this article analyzes C hina's state spatial policies that aim to transform Y unnan from a peripheral frontier into an economic bridgehead. The purposes of the present study are threefold: to contextualize the formation of Yunnan as C hina's frontier; to examine why Yunnan has been strategically selected as a bridgehead to promote C hina's transnational economies; and to explore the central–provincial alliance as an innovative institutional arrangement and look at how this alliance can convert Y unnan into a space of exception or new state space of development. This study finds that in order to convert regional assets into real competitiveness, the C hinese state (national, provincial and local) emphasizes transnational cooperation, endeavors to maximize Yunnan's place‐specific locational advantages and promotes the differentiation of regional developmental trajectories across C hina's national territory. The article contributes to studies of institutional arrangements for cross‐border cooperation in a non‐ W estern context and sheds light on C hina's regional development policies in its hinterland.